


First Day of the Rest of My Life

by captainkippen



Category: Ackley Bridge (TV)
Genre: 5 Things, Falling In Love, First Dates, First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, Marriage Proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-17
Updated: 2018-08-17
Packaged: 2019-06-28 20:04:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15714147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/captainkippen/pseuds/captainkippen
Summary: Five important moments and one unexpected question in Cory and Naveed's relationship.





	First Day of the Rest of My Life

**The First Time They Danced Together**

Prom was coming up, and Naveed Haider was almost dreading it. He'd come out as gay at school a few weeks ago, which had gone way better than he'd ever imagined it would - his best friends (and, following their lead, the rest of the rugby team) had become a tight-knit group full of support. It was quite sweet, but Naveed would have preferred it if they hadn't ended up dragging him to a gay bar in Bradford. Watching them get shot down by lesbians had been fun for a bit, but after a while it had gotten quite cringe-worthy. Not to mention they kept encouraging him, with extreme enthusiasm, to go and talk to the fittest boys they could see. This wouldn't be a problem, except for the fact that having roughly fifteen of his straight friends watching him like a hawk didn't do much for his nerves when trying to chat someone up. Still, it was nice that they were trying.

Prom though… prom was a problem. Naveed wanted to go, but he didn't have anyone to go with. He didn't really feel like asking a girl to go with him… he didn't know many of the girls at school very well except for Nas (she was his ex-fiance after all) but she was definitely going with her girlfriend Sam. He didn't really feel like going alone either, but it was looking like it was either that or not going at all - what a depressing lack of openly gay guys there were in Ackley Bridge. Not going at all presented two problems:

He would miss out on things.  
Cory would absolutely not allow it.

Cory Wilson was Naveed’s best friend in the entire world. He was also, and Naveed was certain of this, the love of his life. At first Naveed had believed him to be straight, but after several weeks of back and forth flirting, a bad reaction to a kiss, and some heartfelt conversations that culminated in the two of them sleeping together his hopes had been raised high… only to come crashing down shortly after when he found out Cory had also slept with Shannon “The Cannon” Burns. They'd argued about it, they'd made up, and things had gone back to mostly-normal between them. Mostly. Sometimes Naveed caught Cory staring at him, but he didn't want to push his luck by saying anything about it.

He did however bring up his prom dilemma one night when they were stretched out on the field by Cory’s house, slowly making their way through two large bottles of cider.

“You're being ridiculous,” Cory said. “Nowt wrong with going alone, mate.”

“Yeah, if you're a loser,” Naveed sighed.

“You are a lose- ow! Fuck, it's not nice to hit people.”

“It's not nice to call them losers either.”

Cory snorted, and they lapsed into silence once again. Naveed had been trying, rather unsuccessfully, to count the few stars visible against the street light polluted sky.  
“I'll go with you,” Cory said suddenly.

Naveed stared at him.

“What?”

“I’ll go with you,” Cory said, shifting uncomfortably and refusing to meet Naveed's eye. “If you're so worried about going alone.”

“I thought you didn't feel that way about me.”

“I don't!”

Naveed flinched, Cory swore.

“I mean, I don't mean… fuck I didn't mean it like that. I mean, you're my best mate, and prom is like a rite of passage or something, innit? You shouldn't miss it. 'Sides, it'd be boring without you.”

So that was how Naveed ended up agreeing to go to prom with his best friend/unrequited crush. He had to admit to himself that it was possible he made things more difficult for himself most of the time where Cory was concerned, something that Nas pointed out regularly, but he wasn't going admit that she was right out loud.

Prom was, as prom is, a complete fucking mess. It started out nicely, almost chilled - as chilled as you could get in Ackley Bridge - everyone looked amazing in their big sparkling gowns and fitted suits. Cory’s suit just seemed to make his legs look even longer, and Naveed had to keep looking away to stop his mouth from watering. It was unfair. No one should look that good. He needed a distraction, and a distraction he received. They were only an hour in before they all watched Riz's own father, sponsor of the school, Sadiq Nawaz punch their Deputy Head in the nose. That was only the beginning of the chaos. Three screaming matches between hysterical students, a few accusations of cheating, and one very drunk girl throwing up all of the buffet table later and they were all on their way out. Cory was practically choking on his own laughter as they slipped out the door.

“See, Nav,” He patted Naveed on the shoulder. “Was worth coming, weren't it?”

“Would've been shit to miss all the drama,” Naveed agreed.

A whole group of them ended up back at Riz’s house. His dad was still back at the golf club where the prom was being hosted, explaining to police officers why he initiated a fight with a member of the faculty in the middle of a school event, and his mum must've gone down to meet him because the house was empty except for Alya - Riz’s younger sister - who complained loudly until someone turned the music up loud enough that they couldn't hear her anymore. Naveed was certain that they'd pay for that later, but for the moment he was satisfied with being that fuzzy kind of tipsy and laughing with his mates.

After a little while the party started to get stuffy, and he went out on to the patio to get some fresh air only to find Cory already sprawled on one of the outdoor sofas.

“Oh, hey,” He said, sitting down next to him

“Hey,” Cory smiled, then pointed up. “You can proper see the stars out here. Not like the other night.”

Naveed looked up. He was right, the sky was scattered with twinkling white lights. No street lamps out on the Nawaz’s land to impede on the view of the heavens. It was almost breathtaking.

“Wow.”

“I know right. Imagine being rich enough to afford the sky.”

Naveed smiled to himself. Cory had a funny way of putting things sometimes.

“We didn't get to dance, y’know,” He said suddenly.

“What?”

“We didn't get to dance” Cory said. “I'm pretty sure you're meant to dance with your date at prom.”

“Yeah well… there weren't much room on the dancefloor what with the sick and stuff, exactly so I think we can be excused.”

Cory was shaking his head before Naveed finished. He stood up and held his hand out to him.

“What?” Naveed laughed. “What are you doing?”

“Dance with me,” Cory said.

“You're being ridiculous, we don't need to- there's not even any music out here!”

The garden was pretty quiet if you ignored the muffled bass thumping through the walls of the house. It was lit only by the kitchen lights and the moon. The dim light illuminated their faces like magic. It felt a little dangerous for some reason.

“Doesn't matter,” Cory insisted.

“I'm going inside,” Naveed said, shaking his head and standing up. As he turned to go though he was stopped by Cory grabbing his hand and twisting him around to face him.

“Why won't you dance with me?”

“Why do you want to dance so much?”

Cory shrugged. “I just want to,” He said, quietly.

Naveed’s resolution crumbled instantly. He sighed loudly.

“Fine. Fine!”

Cory grinned, and pulled him close. He slid one hand on to Naveed’s waist and the other into his hand, and then slowly started to move. Naveed moved with him half-reluctantly.

“I don't even know how to dance,” He complained.

“Neither do I,” Cory said.

“Then why are we doing this?”

Cory leaned forward, resting his chin on Naveed’s shoulder and whispering into his ear.

“'Cause you should dance at prom.”

His hot breath sent shivers down Naveed’s spine. If he turned his head just slightly he could kiss him, again. He was half tempted, just to see what would happen, but he’d been here before and he knew it wouldn't be worth it. Nothing about kissing Cory was worth the risk of losing him for good.

The song inside changed to something slower in tempo, and the world seemed to melt away around them. Naveed didn't know how long they stood there, swaying in gentle circles, but after a bit he had to admit Cory did have some good ideas. He could feel the warmth of Cory’s palm through the thin fabric of his shirt, he could see the way his long lashes rested on his cheek with his eyes closed, could count every one of the scattered marks across Cory’s face.

“You falling asleep there, mate?” He asked quietly.

Cory just hummed in response.

“Not much different from a dream, this,” He mumbled from Naveed’s shoulder after a moment. “You're my favourite person to escape with.”

Naveed doesn't know what he would have said in response to that had they not been interrupted by several other people bursting out the patio doors to join them, and he’s not sure there would have been any response good enough to such a statement.

 

**The First Time They Held Hands**

Cory had been in a lot of situations that made him panic lately. He'd dealt with his dad’s abuse, with his little brother getting kicked out and then going missing only to turn up committing fraud, he'd dealt with his father falling off a roof, with breaking one best friend’s neck and sleeping with the other. It had definitely been one hell of a year.

Dancing with Naveed at the prom after party had been the opposite of a panicking situation. It had made him feel like his luck was finally changing for the better, like the world around him didn't need to be all bad all the time, and things were actually falling into place. He knew Naveed liked him as more than a friend, and he knew that he himself definitely felt something for Naveed that wasn't necessarily just friendship, but he also knew he needed to be certain what it was before acting on it. Being with Naveed made him feel safe, loved, not alone, and that wasn't something he could ever risk losing on a whim. Their friendship meant too much.

This was what he thought about as they swung lazily back and forth on the swing set in the park behind his house together. Naveed was nattering on about some gossip to with Nasreen Paracha and Sam Murgatroyd. It wasn't that Cory didn't care enough to listen, it was just that he knew he'd probably hear the same stuff repeated by Missy - Nas’s best friend - and Nas herself later on. They'd been spending a lot of time all together recently, and if Cory was honest with himself he was a little jealous of how easily Naveed could laugh with the two of them.

“-she needs to calm down, right?” Naveed asked.

“Mmhm,” Cory hummed in agreement, and Naveed went back to his chatter.

He was distracted by the way Naveed's trainers dragged across the dirt of the park ground. The way Naveed smiled slightly as he talked, gesturing wildly with his hands only half wrapped around the swing's chains. The sound of his voice was very soothing, until-

“Why so quiet?”

Cory looked up to see Naveed looking at him in concern.

“Just thinking.”

“What about?”

“You talk so much I'm beginning to think scientists might be able to use your voice as a source of clean energy.”

Naveed laughed, and twisted around on his swing to kick ineffectively at him.

“What are you thinking about really?”

Cory shrugged.

“C'mon, mate,” Naveed said. “You're the one always banging on about how we should talk about important shit. Having “moments” and all that jazz.”

Cory huffed in amusement, and looked away to avoid Naveed’s eye. He took a deep breath.

“How did you know you liked me?”

It was silent for a few moments before Cory gave in and flicked his gaze towards Naveed. He was staring at him, mouth slightly open and stunned.

“You really know how to catch a guy off guard.”

“Nav.”

“Alright. Alright. I knew because… well I don't know. You-you… Remember all that shit I said at the comedy show you got me? That. That's how I knee. Do we have to talk about this?”

Cory shook his head. “Sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“It's fine. Why’re you asking, anyway?”

“Just figuring things out, I guess.” Cory looked away again.

He wasn't sure if it was the extreme heat of the summer sun beating against his bare skin, or the extreme heat of Naveed’s curious gaze that made him shift uncomfortably on his seat. He pushed away from the ground and began to swing properly, Naveed just watched in silence.

Their walk home was quiet, but the world around them wasn't. Kids on summer break ran about noisily, shooting water guns at each other and shrieking with joy. Tired looking adults were scattered around chattering in clusters, and a few times they bumped into lads from school who wanted to stop and say hi. The sun was getting lower in the sky, casting a glowing array of deep oranges, pinks and reds across the clouds. They walked shoulder to shoulder, fingers occasionally brushing as they did.

“About earlier,” Cory said, with a sigh. “I was just asking because… well, 'cause I think I might not be straight. I don't know. I was talking to Nas the other day and she said that sometimes people like guys and girls. I didn't know that before.”

“Oh,” Naveed said. “So, uh… any particular reason you were asking about how I felt?”

It took Cory a moment to formulate a response.

“It’s just… you're my best friend. And I've never felt like this with anybody before. It's kind of confusing… I don't know how to explain it.”

“Okay,” Naveed said.

“Okay?”

“You don't have to explain it right now. It's okay to be confused y’know.”

Cory snorts.

“What?! I'm trying to be supportive!”

“I know, sorry. I know. It's just… you sounded exactly like Nas when you said that.”

“It's gay telepathy,” Naveed said, seriously. “We’re just one big hive mind, really.”

He laughed out loud when Cory elbowed him, that big happy laugh where he would throw his head back and make everyone else smile by doing so.

He went back to his usual chatter after that. It felt like some of the pressure had lifted from Cory’s chest. The next time their hand’s brushed Cory grabbed his, and gently entwined his fingers with Naveed's. Naveed looked at him in shock.

“I'm still figuring it out,” Cory said, as a way of explanation.

Naveed smiled. “Alright then.” And he went back to talking about an upcoming comedy night he had planned.

Before they parted he squeezed Cory’s hand gently, and Cory knew with everything he had that Naveed would never leave him if he asked him not to.

 

**The ~~First~~  One-Hundredth Time They Kissed**

They had all watched in abject horror as Cory went down on the field. It was to be expected, only a couple of hours ago Missy had been saying to them that the new school year had gotten off to an oddly quiet start for Ackley Bridge, so of course the universe was going out of its way to prove her wrong. Usually a rugby player hitting the ground would not be cause for panic, and it was just a lunch-time practise after all - nothing too intense, but the angle he fell at the unmistakable loud crunching sound of bones breaking certainly had been.

It had been roughly five hours since Naveed, Riz, Missy and Nas had arrived at the hospital. At first, when Riz tried to sneak into the back of the ambulance, the teachers had been adamant that they all stay at school and finish the rest of the day, but they relented after Missy threatened to cause a scene. Miss Carter probably knew how unlikely they were to actually focus on lessons anyway.

“He’s gonna be well pissed,” Riz said, lounging across two waiting room chairs with his eyes closed. “He was well looking forward to this season.”

“How long do collarbones take to heal?” Missy asked.

She looked worried. Naveed thought that was quite nice. Cory and Missy had had several ups and downs before they’d finally settled into friendship over the summer - their relationship was mostly an exercise in trading insults until Missy had helped Cory out in fight with one of Candice Murgatroyd’s brothers. Candice was the mother of Cory’s baby son. When they had first met Naveed didn’t even know Cory was a dad, but in the past few months he had been getting more and more involved in his child’s life. This inevitably meant all of the Murgatroyds were around a lot more, which would be fine if they weren’t such an unpleasant bunch. Naveed tried to avoid the Wilson household when the Murgatroyds were around. But sometimes he couldn’t, which is what lead to the fight initially. Candice’s older brothers had showed up at the house unannounced one day while Naveed, Missy, Nas and Riz were there. It had mostly just been awkward silence and sipping cups of tea until one of the brothers finally recognised Naveed from one of his standup nights and then proceeded to say something very homophobic.

Cory had not taken it well. Nobody had. It wasn’t long before voices were raised and fists were flying. Missy hadn’t even hesitated to help out. She had hit one of them around the head with her bag. It was actually quite glorious.

It was still a bit strange to see her worrying about him, though.

“Usually about six to eight weeks,” Nas said, waving her phone in the air. “Well, that’s what Google says anyway.”

“That’s not too bad, then,” Missy says.

Riz and Naveed both laugh.

“Not that bad? He’s never going to stop moaning.”

When Cory was finally released, tired, muddy and a little worse for wear with his arm in a sling, they all cheered.

“Have you guys been here the whole time?” He asked, grinning.

“‘Course, mate,” Naveed said. “Someone has to be here to make fun of you. Fell flat on your face you did.”  
“Oh shut it,” He retorted, but he kept smiling. The idea that Cory didn’t think anybody would wait to see how he was troubled Naveed. He knew the guy had issues believing people cared about him, but how could he think they wouldn’t come to see him? They were all practically joined at the hip at this point.

The next day Naveed woke up bright and early, something he wasn’t usually any good at, and slipped out of the house. It wasn’t a long walk to the Wilson’s, but the morning air was particularly bitter, and Naveed was grateful how quickly Cory answered the door.

“You look like you’ve died,” He greeted him, pushing his way inside.

“Thanks,” Cory drawled. “You always know how to make a bloke feel good about himself.

Naveed grinned. It was true what he’d said - there were dark circles under Cory’s eyes and his hair was sticking up in all sorts of directions. It looked like he hadn’t slept a wink.

“It’s hard to get comfortable with this on,” He gestured to his sling with his free hand.

He then made a painful attempt at making Naveed a cup of tea, but he only managed a few moments of clumsily trying to pick up the sugar before Naveed cut in laughing and took it away from him.

“Sit down, you knob.You’re going to drop everything. I’ll do it.”

Cory sunk gracefully into one of the kitchen chairs and fiddled with the radio as Naveed pottered about the kitchen. It was quite a nice start to the morning, Naveed thought, if you ignored the fact Cory was in a zombie-like state and the weather was right on the verge of truly foul. It felt… domestic. Both of them sitting quietly in the kitchen, drinking tea and listening to the radio.

“How long before your dad’s back, then?” Naveed asked softly.

“Who knows,” Cory said. “Doctors never really give me a straight answer. I don’t even know if I really want him to come back. I mean, obviously I know he will and shit, but… y’know.”

Naveed understood. If his dad was anything like Kevin Wilson he wouldn’t want him to be at home either.

“What about Jordan?”

“Depends on dad, I guess.”

They fell back into silence, both just listening to the radio’s absent chatter. It was broken again a moment later by Cory.

“Why do you care?” He asked.

“What?”

“Why do you care when my dad and Jordan come home?”

Naveed shrugged. “‘Cause they’re important to you. I don’t know. Am I not allowed to ask questions?”

“You are, it’s just…” Cory faltered, then sighed. “Not even Miss Carter checks in as much as you do.”

“Well, obviously. I’m your best mate.”

The look Cory gave him was indecipherable. After a beat it became too intense and Naveed forced himself to look away.

“Nav,” Cory said softly.

“What?” Naveed asked, fiddling with a loose thread on the sleeve of his jumper.

“Nav,” Cory said again.

Naveed turned to look at him, and then Cory’s lips were on his. His lips were soft and sweet with the faint minty taste of toothpaste. It was so gentle and so good that Naveed feels lightheaded. It was nothing like their previous kisses - it lacked the nervousness of the one in the locker room and the haste of the many in Cory’s bedroom. It felt like a fresh start.

 

**The First Time They Went On A Date**

Cory can’t remember ever being as happy as he is when he’s with Naveed. It’s strange - he thought he would panic again after the kiss. He thought he’d be thrown back into that state of confused anxiety and fear that had occurred after the first time they’d slept together. He wasn’t. In fact it felt like the world was made of bright glowing colours all of a sudden, like a dream. The next few months were a blur of perfection. Slowly, Cory lost the feeling that it was all so fragile it might break and slowly began to trust that nobody was going to up and abandon him now, especially not Naveed.

“I’m taking you on our first official date,” He said one lunch, plonking himself down at the table next to Naveed.

“You guys haven’t been on a date yet?” Riz asked. “How? You’re literally always together?”

“Stop earwigging,” Cory said, throwing a balled up napkin at him.

Riz made a face, but turned away to talk to the other lads anyway.

“What do you think?” Cory said to Naveed.

“Where will this, uh ‘date’ be?” Naveed asked. “‘Cause the idea is good and all, but I hate to break it to you… we’re both skint.”

“Don’t worry, it’s nothing too fancy.”

“Just sos you know, a fumble up the rec doesn’t count as a date.”

“Oi! I’m more romantic than that.”

“Hm, sure you are.”

Cory thumped him.

“Save your foreplay for the bedroom, lads,” Nas said as she sat down the other side of Naveed.

“You can talk,” Cory said. “Watching you and Sam together is actually painful.”

Nas rolled her eyes. “Where are you taking him then?”

“Who?”

“Uh, Naveed. On your date?”

“How do you know about that already? I only just told him.”

“Supersonic hearing,” She smirked. “It’s a Paracha superpower.”

Sometimes Nas frightened Cory a little.

“I’m not saying. It’s a surprise.”

“Oh, it’s a surprise,” Naveed said, exchanging a meaningful look with Nas.

“What?” Cory asked.

“Nothing.”

He narrowed his eyes. Naveed sighed and relented.

“It’s just, you’re not really that good at surprises,” He said. “Don’t get me wrong, you do do good surprises. But the secret thing? Not really your best skill.”

“I’m great at keeping secrets! I didn’t tell anyone you were gay. Riz, tell them I can keep secrets.”

Riz snorted. “So I’m allowed to listen in now then?”

“That was different,” Naveed said .”That was like a serious thing.”

Cory was outraged. Him? Bad at secrets? He was great at secrets. Most of the time.

“I can’t believe this,” He said, shaking his head. “This is bullying.”

Naveed threw his head back and laughed - this momentarily distracted Cory from his annoyance. Naveed was distracting in general, but his laugh made Cory feel all warm.

“Sickening,” Riz said, shaking his head at him. Cory threw a chip at him.

To the surprise of everyone, Cory did manage to keep the date under wraps. He wouldn’t even budge when Riz offered to buy him an entire box of Mars Bars in exchange. It was a Saturday that he knocked on Naveed’s door and told him to go get changed. Naveed had been right the other day; they were both skint… usually. Little did he know Cory had been picking up odd jobs around town for a couple of months now to save up for this.

“Okay, seriously. Where are we going?” Naveed asked.

“I told you,” Cory replied casually. “The train station.”

“Yeah but where are we getting the train from? Or are we just gonna hang out there and annoy all the conductors?”

“You’ll see.”

Naveed would not stop asking questions, but Cory refused to budge. He kept to his word - a surprise is a surprise.

“York?” He asked, after Cory had picked up the tickets from the office. “Why are we going to York?”

“Stop asking questions.”

“Then stop keeping secrets!”

“What part of surprise don’t you get?”

Naveed sighed loudly. “Fine, but I’m going to complain the entire way there.”

“Fine.”

“Fine.”

The sight of the world rushing by on the train felt freeing. Cory started to get excited - they were going on a proper adventure. By the time they arrived in York, Naveed had already half tired himself out with all his chatter. They had played eye spy for a good half an hour of the journey, giggling like children and generally annoying everyone else in the carriage. Cory’s heart felt like it was bursting when Naveed took his hand as they walked out of the station.

“Alright then, where to next?”

It was a miracle they got there on time really, as Naveed seemed to want to stop and look in every shop window, but it was so worth the wait to see the look on Naveed’s face when he realised where they were.

“The Yorkshire Royal Observatory and Planetarium,” He slowly from the sign before them. Then he turned to Cory, a look of disbelief painted across his face. Cory grinned. This was the exact effect he’d been hoping for. The building was beautiful, crafted from elegantly carved stone and rising up into the air in a way that made it seem larger than life. The dome on top was wide and white and promised wonders inside it. Cory had never been to an observatory before, but this was almost exactly what he’d pictured when he thought of one.

“What-”

“Y’know, like… remember when we were talking about the stars before and stuff? Well… they do showings of all these cool films and stuff, and… yeah,” Cory trailed off, gesturing towards it. He was starting to doubt himself. What if Naveed didn’t remember those conversations? What if those evenings hadn’t meant as much to him as they had to Cory? What if he actually hated stars, the universe and every kind of science and had no desire to participate in it whatsoever? He cleared his throat and looked down at his shoes, shoving his hands in his pockets awkwardly.. “I thought you might like it is all.”

“I do!” Naveed hurried to reassure him. “I do. I love it. I just… how did you afford this? Isn’t it like expensive or something?”

Cory shrugged. “I’ve been saving up. Money’s not as tight now, with everyone helping out. Wanted to do something nice for you.”

Inside the building they had turned it into a museum filled with all sorts of gadgets ranging from the early days or stargazing and navigation to the modern era. Cory had never really been that interested in science before, but this kind of stuff was cool. He imagined being able to sail a ship around the world without getting lost just by looking up at the night sky - it seemed impossible. The planetarium was smaller than the observatory, but equally as interesting. In the screening room they pushed their chairs back the whole way and lay there together, looking up at the projection of the stars as the guide at the front droned on about the constellations. Cory had a hard time actually concentrating on this because Naveed was close enough he could smell the deodorant on his skin, and something like apples that was probably his shampoo, so he had to focus on not doing anything inappropriate for a public place like grabbing him and kissing his way across his neck. He could wait to do that until they got home… if he put in some real effort.

Somehow he managed it, firmly keeping his hands off Naveed until they got back.

“My house then?” He suggested casually, on the way home. Naveed nodded eagerly.

The second they were in the front door he was shoving Naveed against the wall and kissing him senseless. It was the best date Cory had ever been on, and clearly Naveed felt the same, so he felt he deserved a bit of a reward for it.

Naveed’s fingers curled in his hair, kissing back hungrily. Cory presses himself against him, the warmth of his body seeping through their clothes. It was almost dizzying how good it felt. They hadn’t done this for months, since before they were even together, not since the first time. Cory slid one hand down from Naveed’s shoulder to his arm, gripping it firmly with clear intent. Naveed broke the kiss with a gasp, his eyes flicked up to meet Cory’s.

“My room?” Cory suggested.

“Fuck, yes,” Naveed nodded, grabbing his hand and pulling his towards the stairs. It was amazing that they didn’t trip and fall down, stopping every couple of steps up to kiss each other again, and once they were on the landing Naveed slid his hands under the hem of Cory’s shirt to pull it up and off. He stopped and stared at him, eyes dark. Cory cursed, and pulled him back into his arms.

“Can’t get enough of this,” He whispered between kisses. “Can’t get enough of you, Nav.”

Naveed moaned. Cory walked him backwards into his room, fumbling blindly for the door and kicking it shut behind them. They moved until the back of Naveed’s knees hit the edge of the bed and he fell backwards, Cory following, barely even breaking the kiss as they went down. Clothing came off piece by piece until there was nothing left to cover them. Cory let his hands roam across Naveed’s skin, exploring his body with the utmost care. He traced the curve of Naveed’s neck with his mouth as Naveed wrapped his legs around his waist.

“I can’t believe this is real,” He said softly into Cory’s ear. Cory smiled into his skin, and pressed a firm kiss into his jaw.

“Me neither. What do you want?”

“Everything,” Naveed said, breathlessly. “Everything.”

“I could… I could fuck you?” Cory said, nervously. “I’ve never really done that with a guy before, though.”

Naveed swallowed. “I don’t know if I’m ready for that just yet. Can we just… stick with something more basic for now?”

“‘Course,” Cory said. “Whatever you want.”

Naveed took a deep breath. “Can I blow you?”

Cory’s breath hitched and all words escaped him. He nodded eagerly, and Naveed gently pushed him up and over until he was on his back. He scooted down the bed, and pressed a kiss to Cory’s thigh, then looked up at him seriously.

“Don’t laugh, okay? I haven’t done this much.”

Cory smiled fondly. “You really think I’m gonna laugh at you in bed?”

Unfortunately, the Very Serious Look on Naveed’s face as he leaned down was kind of funny, and Cory had to bite his lip to stop himself from sniggering. It was one of those situations where you are certainly not supposed to be laughing, but can’t help it. He could feel it bubbly up inside of him in an odd mixture of aroused and slightly hysterical. Naveed definitely noticed, and he smacked Cory on the hip for it.

“You said you wouldn’t laugh!”

“I’m sorry!” Cory snorted. “I’m not laughing, I promise.”

Naveed shot him a suspicious glance, and then looked back down to Cory’s thighs, spreading them gently. He looked so focused, the same look he’d get on his face when he was actually concentrating in class. Cory was shaking with the effort not to laugh. Naveed sighed.

“Look, if you’re not going to take this seriously-”

“I am, I am” Cory said. “Look. Completely serious.” He composed his face as best he could, and looked up at the ceiling to make sure he didn’t laugh. There were a couple of seconds of silence, and then he realised the bed was shaking. He looked back down to see…

“Are you laughing?!” He demanded, outraged.

Naveed shook his head, clearly snickering. “No.”

“You are! You’re laughing, right after you told me off- are you laughing at my dick?!”

Naveed made a pained wheezing sound, not unlike a deflating bouncy castle. That did it. They were both in gales of laughter seconds later. It took ten minutes for them to calm down - they kept looking at one another and setting each other off again.

Once the laughter had finally died down and they’d both flopped back to rest their heads on Cory’s pillow, Cory sighed.

“I was planning to make you come really hard,” He said.

Naveed snorted. “Maybe in like… half an hour when I can get it up without losing it.”

Cory smiled.

“Good date?”

“Yeah.”

He tangled their fingers together, and squeezed gently. Naveed turned his head to look him in the eye, face suddenly serious.

“I’m really glad you exist, y’know.”

It was very tempting to Cory in that moment to say three words he was completely certain he felt but was uncertain he was ready to voice. Instead, he just stayed silent, and pressed a kiss to Naveed’s cheek.

 

**First Time He Said I Love You**

The end of Sixth Form was more emotional than Naveed anticipated. He never thought he’d be that sad to say goodbye to Ackley Bridge, but all he could think about on their last day was how much it had given him. He had a tight knit group of friends who would support him through anything, he had the greatest boyfriend in the world, he had an acceptance letter into his dream university course, and it was all because of his stupid, slightly terrible, chaotic school. It was slightly bittersweet though, he’d be leaving his parents and friends soon, and also Cory.

Cory had managed to get offered places at several different prestigious rugby academies, and he was off to play in Leeds in the next couple of weeks. Naveed was happy for him, overjoyed even, but he couldn’t deny it also kind of sucked.

“If we can make it through Ackley Bridge together we can do this too,” Cory had reassured him when Naveed had brought this up. Naveed hadn’t said it out loud, but a little voice inside his head was quick to point out that here at school they were together all the time, and at uni they were going to be two hours away from each other at minimum for weeks at a time.

They were in bed one morning, two weeks before Cory was due to leave, when Naveed had an epiphany. Naveed woke up, face smushed into the pillow, Cory’s snores filling the air from where he lay sprawled next to him. Early morning sunlight flooded in through the open curtains, filling the bedroom and illuminating his sleeping features. One of Cory’s arms was slung heavily across Naveed’s waist, holding him close to his side. Naveed felt so content, lying there on Cory’s lumpy mattress with the duvet pulled up around them and the heat from Cory’s bare chest warming, he could've died there quite happily. This was all he ever wanted.

The realisation hit him like a train; this was all he wanted. It was like he'd just learned one of the secrets of the universe. A certain truth that filled him with both fear and excitement. Cory was all he wanted, all he ever wanted for the rest of his life. He was fairly certain that should be impossible, given that they were both only eighteen.

How on earth was he going to survive university? He wasn't usually one for dramatics… well, he was, but he wasn't usually one for getting dramatic over his boyfriend, but the idea of being so far away from another for long sounded like a terrible idea.

He shook Cory. Cory snorted awake and looked at Naveed sleepily.

“'time’s it?” He asked through a yawn.

“Like seven I think” Naveed answered quietly. “What if we never have time to see each other?”

Cory's brow furrowed in confusion, he reached over Naveed to grab clumsily at his phone on the bedside table, checking the time. “What?”

“Like, what if we both go away and our timetables never match up and we never see each other again.”

Cory groaned and flopped back into the pillow. His burrowed his face in Naveed’s shoulder. “Stop being a div and go back to sleep.”

Naveed poked him in the shoulder, hard.

“Nav,” Cory sighed, lifting his head back up again. “We are not going to stop seeing each other. We've been over this.”

“But what if we don't have time to see each other, that's what I'm saying.”

“We’ll make time. It's only like an hour by train. Can see each other on weekends.”

“You looked up the train times?”

“How else was I gonna know how to get to you?”

“I didn't realise you'd planned that far ahead.”

Cory raised an eyebrow. “Like you haven't?”

He absolutely had. He shrugged. Cory rolled his eyes.

“Nav, I’m in love with you. Being in different places isn't gonna change that.”

Naveed's world crashed to starling halt. Cory loved him. Cory _loved_ him. He didn't just fancy him, he didn't only love him as a close friend, he was _in love with him_ and he was openly admitting it.

“Nav?”

“You love me?” Naveed croaked, throat dry. Cory looked uncertain all of a sudden.

“I thought you knew that.”

“You've never said it before! What the fuck? You love me. Oh my God.”

“It's okay if you dont-”

“Shut up, of course I do,” Naveed said, tugging his head forward for a hard kiss. “Of course I love you.”

Cory closed his eyes and smiled.

“Oh my God, we’re in love,” Naveed said. “We’re one of those sickening, wanky romantic couples. We go on dates and we’re in love.”

Cory sighed in a very out upon way. “Well, yeah obviously. Riz complains about us all the time. Now, please can we go back to sleep and stop worrying.”

For the first time in maybe ever, Naveed took his advice.

Cory had been right, of course. They made time to see each other regularly. When Naveed’s university flatmates met Cory for the first time, in spite of all of Cory’s worrying that they wouldn't like him, they immediately decided he needed to visit more regularly. Naveed had never felt so free as he did at uni, and somehow Cory still managed to fit into that perfectly. They hadn't grown apart at all, it actually felt like they were both putting a lot more effort into their relationship.

They were young and in love, and Naveed felt a little invincible. He was on top of the world, and it was only the beginning.

 

**An Unexpected Question**

Five. Naveed and Cory had attended five weddings in the past three months alone. It was getting a bit ridiculous, like all of their friends were suddenly hit by the same wave of wedding fever and rushing to the altar. Of course, this was great for them and it wouldn’t be a problem at all if it weren’t for the fact that every wedding involved lots of elderly relatives, and those elderly relatives loved to ask Cory and Naveed when it was their turn to get married.

They were trudging back into their flat after once such wedding - Missy and Nas’s (it had been a particularly beautiful affair that they’d managed to organise themselves with the help of Missy’s wedding planning business) - tipsy from a mixture of exhaustion and champagne, when Cory brought this up.

“Why does everyone was us to get married so bad,” He complained, flopping back on to the sofa. “You'd think everyone would be bored of weddings by now.”

Naveed laughed as he slipped off his tie. “Right? I don't ever want to see another wedding cake.”

“Hm, I don't know… I like the cake,” Cory mused. “That's the best part. And the dancing. Could do without all the shitty relatives though.”

Cory watched as Naveed plopped down on the sofa next to him and kicked his feet up on the coffee table. It was new, as was most of the rest of their flat’s furniture. They'd moved in six months ago, but only recently managed to get around to filling it. It felt quite grown up, having their own flat with their own furniture and their own bills. It was weird.

“Maybe we should get a cat,” He said.

“Why?”

“I don't know. We already did everything else. We got jobs, moved in together, bought like actual IKEA furniture. Isn't the next step a cat or something?”

Naveed laughed. “You're so weird. What would we do with a cat? We'd probably forget to feed it.”

He supposed that was true. Between Naveed hopping around the comedy circuit and Cory’s coaching schedule they'd probably just forget about a cat all together. Or lose it somehow. None of their houseplants ever survived past a few weeks . It was a miracle Cory managed to keep Jamie alive on the weekends he had him.

Actually it wasn't so much a miracle as it was Cory had grown up and learned how to be a pretty good father in the past few years, and he also had Naveed to help him which was a bonus. In fact, it had been going so well in that department that Jamie had started calling Naveed 'dad’ much to everyone's extreme delight.

“Nas says we should only get married when we want to, not when anyone else wants us to,” Cory said.

“Wise on, that Nas.”

“Thing is-” Cory said, clearing his throat. “The thing is… what if everyone else wants us to and we want to at the same time.”

He was aiming for casual, but it clearly didn't work because Naveed was looking at him with a raised eyebrow and an amused smile.

“I don't know. That would depend on if we did actually want to get married.”

They stared at each other, Naveed’s eyes daring Cory to make his move. Cory looked at his knees and thought about the ring he'd been hiding in the bottom of the wardrobe for the past eight months. He had spent ages finding the right one, and he had spent even more time trying to find the perfect way to pop the question. He still hadn't cracked it.

“Do we?”

“I don't know,” Naveed smirked. “Do we?”

Cory sighed. Of course he'd make this difficult. Fine then. If that was the way he was going to be. Cory pushed himself up off the sofa and marched into their bedroom.

“Where are you going?” Naveed called from the living room.

Cory rummaged through the wardrobe up he found the little black box. He could hear Naveed coming.

“What are you doing?”

Cory turned, and sank to one knee. “Asking properly.” He held the ring box out, and popped it over. “I kept trying to figure out the right time to do this, the perfect way to ask. I even asked Nas, but then she got all concerned that I was doing it because people were telling me to and not because I actually wanted to, but I do. I do want to. I want to marry you, Nav. I want to marry you, and have kids with you, and grow old and complain about shitty TV with you until we die. I've loved you since we were seventeen years old, and I've known I want to spend the rest of my life with you almost as long. I can't imagine my life without you. There’s nothing without you. You're my fucking everything. I can't believe how lucky I am to have you.

“Cory-” Naveed choked, he actually looked a bit tearful. Cory wasn't sure if he'd rather Naveed just laugh at him instead or not.

“Naveed Haider, will you marry me?”

“Yes, you knob,” Naveed breathed out. “Of course I'll marry you.”

There were five moments with Naveed that Cory remembered to be the happiest in his life. The first time they'd danced, and he'd known Naveed would always be there. The first time they'd held hands, and he realised he liked Naveed more than just a friend. Their first kiss when they finally got together. Their first date, staring up at the stars of a planetarium. And finally, the first time Naveed told him he loved him on that quiet June morning in bed. It had been seventeen years and counting, and Naveed had filled Cory’s life with pure unrelenting joy for every second of it, but none of those moments - the best moments of his life - could compare even a little to the way he felt when Naveed said yes.

They were going to spend the rest of their lives together, and there was nothing he wanted more.

**Author's Note:**

> I've been working on this one for AGES and I'm so excited by the fact I finished it that I'm posting it without even SPELLCHECKING. Don't call me out in typos!! I'll check them later (actually do call me out in case I miss them when I check later).
> 
> Wow I wish I was one of those authors who loves to edit, but I'm not I just love to write and then scream into the void for days.
> 
> Hope you enjoy it.


End file.
